Simply put, the objective of the game of golf is to get the golf ball into the cup in the least amount of strokes possible. Despite the simplicity of the objective of the game of golf, the development of the equipment used by the golfer to achieve this simple goal has been extremely complex and technical. The golf ball, for example, began its technological journey as a featherie ball in the early stages of the game of golf, but transitioned into a gutta-percha golf ball that eventually developed into a wound golf ball. Although the wound golf ball was thought of as the most preferred method of golf ball construction during its days, recent technological advancements have further improved upon the wound golf ball by creating a urethane type golf ball that improves the distance and feel of the golf ball beyond what is achievable by any of the golf balls in the past.
Golf clubs, on the other hand, has also made significant technological advancements to help the golfer achieve this simple goal of getting a golf ball into the cup. One of the major advancements in golf club technology is the ability to use advanced materials such as titanium and carbon fiber to create a hollow golf club head to replace the original persimmon wood. Utilizing advanced materials such as titanium and carbon fiber allows the overall weight of the golf club to be reduced, creating discretionary weight that can be placed at more desirous location within the golf club head to increase the moment of inertia; which in turn makes the golf club more forgiving and easier to use for the average golfer.
Another example of advancements in golf club technology is the creating of a cavity in the rear back portion of an iron type golf club head. Although iron type golf club heads were initially designed as solid pieces of forged irons, the ability to shift the weight toward the perimeter of the iron type golf club head gives them a hollowed from the rear of the golf club head, creating what is commonly known as a cavity back. These cavity back iron type golf club heads improve the size of the sweet spot of the iron type golf club as well as the moment of inertia of the golf club head, making them more forgiving and easier to use for the average golfer.
To further complicate things, golf club shafts have also advanced significantly technologically to be able to severely affect the performance of a golf club. U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,422 shows one example of technological advancements in a golf club shaft technology that is 35-50 percent lighter than a conventional shaft while maintaining the outer diameter and structural characteristics of a conventional golf club shaft.
Despite all of the technological advancements in golf club technology to make the game of golf easier, the severe variations in an individual golfer's skill level and technique has prohibited the golf club designers from designing one golf club that maximizes the performance potentials of every single golfer. The different variation in an individual golfer's swing often requires the perfect club head and shaft for that individual golfer. Even if the golfer finds his perfect golf club, different weather and course conditions will often requiring adjustments to the various components of a golfer's golf club. Hence, it can be seen that although there is no perfect golf club suitable for every golfer, the correct combination of a technologically advanced golf club with a golf club head will allow the golfer to maximize his performance.
In order to strive to create a perfect golf club for each and every single golfer, golf club designers need to explore opportunities to customize the golf club and shaft combination in a way that allows different individual golfers to adjust a golf club to determine the ideal set up for his own individual needs. U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,559 to Murphy provides an early example of this attempt to allow customization and adjustability of a golf club by providing a golf club wherein the handle or shaft will be easily attachable and detachable via a threaded mechanism, but when attached will be held firmly in position. Although crude, this early attempt to allow the golfer to detach the shaft from the golf club head allows a golfer to experiment with different golf club shafts without the need to change the performance characteristics of the golf club head.
U.S. patent application No. 2005/0049072 to Burrows shows a further example of a customizable golf club while maintaining the same general concept of utilizing a threaded connection mechanism. U.S. patent application No. 2005/0049072 to Burrows discloses a temporary shaft-component connection that is designed with a metal adapter inserted onto a lower end of the club shaft, and includes one or more flat surfaces for reception into a matingly shaped socket in the hosel of a selected golf club head to prevent relative rotation between the club shaft and head.
Although threaded connection mechanisms are adequate to securely connect the golf club head to the shaft of the golf club, they are burdensome to install and uninstall due to the repetitive turning motion required by a threaded mechanism. In addition to being burdensome, installing and uninstalling threaded connection mechanisms often require an additional tool, making the golfer carry additional equipment that he may not even need or utilize very often.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,442 to Walker makes an attempt to address the cumbersome nature of the connectivity between a shaft and a golf club head by disclosing a golf club with a quick release head. Although U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,442 discloses a quick release pin positioned through the apertures of the hosel and rod to secure the pre-selected head to the rod and shaft, it still utilized screw threads formed within the bore that extends form the hosel end of the shaft as the main connection mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,844 to Ashcraft et al. makes another attempt to address the cumbersome nature of a threaded connection mechanism by disclosing a golf club head having a transverse slit that extends from the heel end transversely through the flat face. This slit creates a bore that can be tightened utilizing a pair of clamping screws, extending through one of the bores across the slit for threaded engagement with respective aligned bore. U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,844, although discloses a pair of clamping screws to remove the screws in an axial direction, still uses threaded screw in a planer direction; preventing a golfer from freeing himself of cumbersome and burdensome assembly tools.
Hence, as it can be seen from above, despite all the advancement in golf club technology and customization technology, the current art has been unable to sufficiently develop an attachment mechanism that is quick and easy without a threaded connection mechanism that requires an external tool.